After a typically lethargic 1st quarter, the Lakers hit their stride at the beginning of the 2nd quarter while CP3 sat on the bench and watched the Lakers bench provide the spark the team needed; a 10-0 run that got the Lakers back in the game and was then punctuated in a way none of us thought was possible.

Let’s be real, Kobe doesn’t have young legs. We haven’t seen have a memorable jam in years. The last Kobe jam, that I recall, that made stand up out of my chair was back in the Garden a few years back, driving baseline and throwing down a reverse jam against a couple of hapless Knicks.

And then Kobe destroyed Emeka Okafor. I texted a buddy that “Kobe just murdered Okafur.” He did. Okafur is known throughout the league for being a shot blocker. He’s not scared to go up and run the risk of being on your next poster and he’ll be Kobe’s.

Kobe finished up an emphatic left-handed jam later in the game.

Charles Barkley was right at halftime, Kobe wasn’t hurt. He wasn’t on his “death bed” as CB put it. He may have been sore, but the ran with it as if he was on the verge of amputation and Kobe milked it. Greg Anthony said he felt “bamboozled.” I wonder what the Hornets felt like?

This series SHOULD end in game 6 but with these Lakers you never know.

The three biggest positives I took out of this game are:

1. The play of the bench. They didn’t shoot well, but they had 18 total rebounds, 6 dimes and 3 steals. They were active defensively and 3 of the 4 players off the bench ended up with double digits on the positive side of +/-.
2. Twin tower domination. It was nice to have Pau Gasol sighting (or maybe that was Marc?). Pau played his game. He didn’t get impatient and utilized his skills to get into the flow of the game. And ‘Drew was manly. He patrolled the paint and made smart decisions on the offensive end.
3. The overall aggressiveness on the defensive end. There were a few open 3′s (can someone get a hand in Ariza’s face for his spot up 3?), but the Lakers clogged the paint and made it difficult forced the Hornets to play more from the perimeter.

I hope Laker mojo makes the trip to New Orleans, I sure as hell do not want to see a game 7.